When we read about the blessings which Ya'aqob Abinu 'a"h gave his children before he passed away, we notice the uniqeness of each blessing, designed to meet the mission of each one of them. When we examine each Berakha, we realize that the shortcomings of Reuben, Shimon and Lewi are clearly mentioned. We can even find words of rebuke to his three elder children.
We might wonder what kind of feelings Ya'aqob Abinu had for these children. Were they considered outsiders in the family? Is there any message for us to be learnt?
The portion of the section of the benedictions is concluded with the following phrase: "All these are the tribes of Israel, twelve..." (Bereshith 49,28). According to the Alshikh Haqqadosh, Ya'aqob Abinu was particular to make known that every single one of his children was an integral part of the twelve tribes of Israel. None of them was excluded. Each one was righteous in his own right befitted to be counted amongst the tribes of Israel.
Hakham Yoseph Hayyim 'a"h comments in his holy work "Addereth Eliyahu" that the name Yisrael (Israel) denotes importance. It is only when we follow the path of the Torah and the will of Haqadosh Barukh Hu that we deserve this title "Yisrael".
My dear friends, our father Ya'aqob transmitted to us an important value. When we see in people around us - particularly those who are close to us (our children, our spouse, etc.) - a characteristic which requires improvement, or a trait which is imperfect, we must remember that we are all descendants of our forefathers. We are all part of the tribes of Israel. Different as we are, we are all unique and must be equally included, just like Ya'aqob Abinu blessed each one of his children with his special customized benediction and included them all equally in the twelve tribes of Israel!
